Condenser



R. N. EHRHARI.

CONDENSER. APPLICATION FILED NOV- 8. 1918.

1L ,353,64l2 Patented Sept. 21, 192% O O' O O O O O O O O O O O O 9410 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O .171 as are rare.

RAYMOND N. EHRCEABT, 0F EDGEWOOD, PEIWSYLVANIA.

CONDENSER.

essence. V

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Sept, 21, 192% Application filed November 8, 1918, Serial No. 261,710.

structed that the fluid to be condensed, for,

example, exhaust steam, enters the upper portion of the condenser and passes downwardly between the cooling tubes to the point of complete condensation, which is usually near the bottom of the condenser and at a point adjacent to the air off-take port. In order to conserve space the condenser is ordina 'ly completely filled with cooling tubes. The external shape of a condenser shell is frequently determined by the available space for the condenser installation and experience shows that a rectangular condenser usually provides a maximum amount of cooling or condensing surface, because it may be installed to better advantage, from the standpoint of space conservation, in the space available for the installation. In order to obtain eflicient operation of the condenser the cooling surface must be so distributed that each unit'of cooling surface is as effective as cooling or condensing medium as every other unit of surface within the condenser.

The invention has for its'principal objects to produce a condenser in which the cooling tubes are arranged so as to .yield maximum condensation within a limited space; to produce a condenser having a rectangular shell and in which means are employed whereby the paths of steam flow converge toward points of complete condensation within the condenser; to produce a condenser having tubes arranged so as to offer a minimum of resistance to the flow of condensable fluids so that the difference in pressure between the intake and the points of complete condensation is reduced to a minimum; to produce a condenser in which the surface distribution is such that the cooling surface is reduced along the paths of flow in' substantially direct proportion to the rate of condensation; and such other objects as may hereinafter appear. One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-.

The figure is a diagrammatic transverse sectional View of a condenser, no attention being directed to details as the drawing is simply intended to illustrate the principle involved.

' Referring to the drawing; the condenserincludes a rectangular shell having sides 1 and 2, a bottom portion 3 and the usual arrangement of water boxes and end plates, but one end plate 4 is shown. The shell is open at its top, or is provided at the top with an inlet port which, as'shown, communicates with an exhaust passage through which fluid to be condensed is delivered.

Substantially the upper half of, the condenser shell is filled by a group or nest A' of cooling tubes 6 which extend longitudinally of the condenser between the end plates and through which the condensing water is circulated-in the usual'manner. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the condenser is provided with a lower group of tubes divided into; two nests B- and B' which are separated by a wedge shaped space or steam lane C having its narrowest portion adjacent the bottom 3 of the shell and its widest portion communioatingwith the space or lane D located between the group A and the nests BB.

As shown, a condensate outlet 7 is provided in the bottom of the shell for delivering condensate from the condenser, andv air outlet. passages 8 are provided in each side of the shell adjacent the bottom thereof for extracting noncondensable fluids from the condenser.

It will be seen from the drawing thatthe tube groups B are trapeziodal in section and that steam or other condensable fluid passing through the first or upper tube group A will be free to enter the top faces I; and the side faces 0 of both the groups B, thus providing a combined entrance face for the lower group of tubes having greater area than the entrance face a of the upper group of tubes. Because of this increased area of the entrance face of the lower group. the space between the tubes of the lower group may be shortened, thus permitting the use of a correspondingly increased number of cooling tubes without changing the actual entrance area or affecting the velocity of the condensable fluid.

lln order to offer a minimum resistance to the flow of condensable fluid entering the condenser, the tubes of the entrance face a of the upper group A are spaced with a comparatively wide pitch while those near the bottom of the group A. may be spaced closer without increasing the velocity or resistance to flow of the fluid because of the reduced volume of the fluid resulting from the cooling and condensation taking place in the upper portion of the nest. It Wlll be seen that if the tubes along the entrance fac'es band 0 of the lower group B are pitched the same as the tubes in the lower portion of the group A, the actual entrance area will be greater for the lower group than the exit area of the upper group, and consequently a closer spacing may be resorted to in the lower group than is employed in the upper group.

It has been found that the efliciency of a condenser per unit of condensing area is increased if the available area is so arranged that it presents a diminishing or converging condensing area to the fluid as it progresses through the condenser. In order to provide such converging areas, a diaphragm 9 is disposed diagonally through each of the nests BB and extends upwardly from the adjacent corner of the shell at a point adjacent to the condensate outlet port 8.

Another advantage of the construction is the high temperature of the condensate delivered from the condenser. This is accomplished by placing the hot well 7 in direct contact with hot fluid passing down through the space C which opens into the hot well. The hot fluid coming in contact with the condensate at this point raises the temperature of the condensate to nearly the point of vaporization, which results in a large saving in heat where the condensate is employed as feed water.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the tubes are arranged within the shell in a manner that will give a maximum of condensing efliciency without impairing the vacuum at the inlet to the condenser and that the condensate is maintained at a high temperature without diminishing the efliciency of the condensing agents.

While I have described and illustrated but one embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, additions and omissions may be made in the apparatus described and illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a condenser, a substantially rectangular shell, a condensate outlet adjacent the bottom of the shell, a group of cooling tubes substantially filling the upper portion of the shell and through which fluid is adapted ,to flow toward the bottom of the condenser, a second group of tubes spaced from and beaaaaeaa neath the first group arranged so that the fluid traversing the first group may enter the top and side of the second group, and fluid extracting means adapted to draw fluid downward toward a point in the group diagonally opposite the joining corners of the exposed top and side faces of the group.

2. In a condenser, a rectangular shell, a condensate outlet adjacent the bottom of the shell, a group of cooling tubes substantially filling the upper portion of the shell and through which fluid is adapted to flow toward the bottom of the condenser, a second group of tubes spaced from and beneath the first group arranged in separate polygonal nests of tubes, each nest having its top face and a side face exposed to fluid passing from the first group of tubes, fluid extracting means adjacent the lower portion of the shell, and a diagonally disposed diaphragm in each nest extending substantially from the joining corners of the exposed top and side entrance faces to a noint adjacent the fluid extracting outlet means, whereby the said nests are subdivided into angular units having convergingcondensing areas from the entrance face toward the said extraction outlets.

In a condenser, a rectangular shell, a condensate outlet adjacent the bottom of the shell, a group of cooling tubes substantially filling the upper portion of the shell and through which fluid is adapted to flow toward the bottom of the condenser, a second group of tubes spaced from and beneath the rst group arranged so that the fluid traverslng the first group may enter the top and side of the second group, fluid extracting outlet means adjacent the bottom of the shell, and means dividing the second group into angular units having converging condensing paths of flow from. the entrance face of each unit toward the fluid extracting outlet means.

I. In a condenser, a rectangular shell, a condensate outlet adjacent the bottom of the shell, 'a group of cooling tubes substantially filling the upper portion of the shell and through which fluid is adapted to flow toward the bottom of the condenser, a second group of tubes spaced from and beneath the rst group arranged in two trapezoidal units having their top entrance exposed to fluid traversing the first group and their adjacent side faces exposed to fluid entering the space between the units, and nonconden sable fluid outlets disposed at the lower corner of the shell adapted to direct the flow of gases diagonally downward through the units. 1

5. In a condenser, a rectangular shell, a condensate outlet adjacent the bottom of the shell, a group of cooling tubes substantially filling the upper portion of the shell and through which. fluid is adapted to flow toward the bottom of the condenser, a second roup of tubes spaced from and beneath the rst group arranged into two separate units having their top and adjacent side faces exosed to fluid traversing the first group, afiles extending diagonally downward substantially from the adjacent upper corner of the units to the adjacent lower corner of the shell, dividing the lower units into angular nests of tubes having converging condensing areas from their entrance faces toward the opposing lower corners of the shell and outlets for noncondensable fluid adjacent the opposing lower corners of the shell adapted to receive fluid from both nests of each lower unit.

6. In a condenser, a condenser shell, a condensate outlet adjacent the bottom of the shell, a group of cooling tubes extending across the shell so that fluid entering the top of the condenser will pass between the tubes thereof toward the lower portion of the shell,

and a second group of tubes spaced from the upper group and having an exposed entrance face of greater area than the entrance face of the first group adapted to receive fluid traversing the first group.-

7. In a condenser, a condenser shell, a condensate outlet adjacent the shell, a group of cooling tubes extending across the shell so that fluid entering the top of the condenser will pass between the tubes toward shell, and a second group of tubes spaced from the upper group and having an exposed entrance face of greater area than the bottom face of the second group whereby fluidpas'sing through the tubes of the second group will encounter diminishing cooling surfaces as the fluid approaches the bottom of the condenser.

8. In a condenser, a shell, a condensate outlet adjacent the bottom of the shell, a

bottom of the the lower portion of thewill pass between a lower group of tubes spaced from and beneath the first group andhaving an entrance face for fluid traversing the first group of greater area than the lower fluid exit face of the first group, the tubes of the lower group being pitched substantially the same as the tubes in the lower portion of the first group.

9. In combination in a condenser, a nest of tubes located between the inlet port and the air ofitake port of the condenser partially filling the condenser, but extending entirely across the steam path from the inlet port to the air off-take port, a second nest of tubes spaced from the first nest and located between the first nest. and the air 0 port, and means for dividing the second nest into groups in each of which the paths of steam flow converge toward the air ofi-take port and the cooling surface decreases along the converging paths.

10. In combination in a condenser, a nest of tubes partially filling the condenser but extending entirely across the path of flow from the inlet to the air off-take port of the condenser, a second nest of tubes located within the condenser between and the air off-take port, and a condensate well formed within the condenser and in the first nest open communication .w1th a steam lane formed between the first and second mentioned nests of tubes.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 5th day of Novem ber, 1918.

RAYMOND N. EHRHART. y 

